Frequent Miler on the Air

Last week we talked about how to earn Citi ThankYou Rewards, but now we'd like to discuss some of the best (and worst) ways you can use your Citi ThankYou Rewards. Catch last week's episode about accumulating Citi ThankYou Rewards here. (01:17) - In a recent podcast Greg stated that United hadn’t before offered discounted business class awards to elites. One listener writes in with a correction that Platinum and 1K have had expanded access to saver awards in business class. (04:06) - How to evaluate credit card welcome bonus offers Compare all the best credit card sign up offers here. (11:57) - Counting down the best uses of ThankYou Rewards from least favorite to most favorite... Learn more about the Citi Premier card here. (13:40) - 10. Transfer to Wyndham to book Vacasa, Cottages, etc. (15:30) - 9. Transfer to Emirates. Book Emirates 1st class for 102K (JFK to Milan, or Newark to Athens) Learn how to find and book Emirates first class awards here. (17:19) - 8.Transfer to Turkish to book 10K one-way to/from Hawaii (18:12) - 7.Virgin: fly AF/KLM Business class to Europe starting at 48,500; also intra-Europe as low as 4K (19:55) - 6.Transfer to Avianca LifeMiles to book business class to Europe for 70K without surcharges (LifeMiles+) (22:11) - 5.Transfer to Choice 1 to 2. Book Nordic hotels, Japan, Preferred, etc. (24:19) - 4.Transfer to Leaders Club. Book Leading Hotels of the World for 1.6cpp (25:24) - 3.Transfer to Qatar Avios. Book Qatar QSuites for 70K Learn more about finding award space for Qatar QSuites here. (27:30) - 2.Transfer to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands. One-way business class flights from the US to Taipei cost 75K to 80K miles (30:27) - 1.Transfer to Qatar Avios then to Iberia. Book Iberia biz class from east coast to Spain for 34K off-peak or 50K peak (33:42) - BEST USE: Transfer to Flying Blue. Book Air France/KLM biz class to Europe for 50K Learn more about viewing the Flying Blue award calendar here. (36:31) - Find out about current point transfer bonuses here. (40:18) - WORST 5: Counting down from best of the worst to worst of the worst (40:34) - 5.Buy gift cards (41:46) - 4.Book travel through Citi (43:46) - 3. Transfer to AeroMexico (or transfer to ANY program to book low-value award) (44:59) - 2. Pay with Points (0.8 cpp value) (46:44) - 1. Shop with Points (usually: 0.8 cpp value) (49:38) - Do you have tips about rental car programs and how to maximize value with car rental rewards? Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

This is one no-fee, cash back card that's worth talking about because of a few unique features, which we'll discuss in today's Card Talk. (00:34) - Basic details of the US Bank Altitude Connect card Read more about the US Bank Altitude Connect card updates here. (01:19) - Other (more unique) card perks (like complimentary Priority Pass Select with 4 free visits) Learn more about the US Bank Altitude Connect card here. (03:23) - This card also comes with up to $100 in credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry (03:40) - US Bank Altitude Connect also comes with "GigSky" through November 15, 2025. GigSky advertises that you can "stay connected in over 125 countries with complimentary GigSky global mobile data plans." (08:11) - Important note: points cannot be moved from the Altitude Connect card to the Altitude Reserve card Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

We all get especially excited when we use our points for knock-your-socks-off hotel properties. The Travel and Leisure's Top 100 list can be a useful way to get ideas about which properties have this wow-factor. Every year, Greg likes to go through this list and find which hotels can be reasonably booked with points. In this episode, he'll discuss his findings. (00:49) - The Best Points-Bookable Hotels in the World (2024) [based on Travel & Leisure Top 100] See Greg's analysis of points-bookable hotels on the Travel & Leisure's top 100 list here. (03:40) - How to book the Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG hotels (04:43) - How to book Hilton/SLH hotels (06:13) - Leading Hotels of the World / Leaders Club Learn more about booking Leading Hotels of the World properties via Citi ThankYou points here. (08:02) - See our How To video for using Rooms.aero for finding difficult award availability here. (10:09) - Choice Privelages and Preferred Hotels (13:42) - The Citi Rewards+ advantage Read more about the Citi Rewards+ card here. Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

We've been talking a lot lately about unique uses for Citi ThankYou points  such as transferring to Leading Hotels of the World, but how do you accumulate these points? That's what we'll talk about in today's episode of Frequent Miler on the Air. (01:20) - During Ask Us Anything, Greg said that Amex to Hilton transfer bonus would have to be 70% to match standard Chase to Hyatt transfer value. One reader thought of a situation where a 1.7 cents per point value could be reached via Bilt to Virgin Atlantic 125% transfer bonus for Platinum members. Watch our recent Ask Us Anything here. (07:53) - Hilton Aspire resort credit-eligible hotel list shrinks Read more about the Hilton Aspire resort credit eligible hotel list changes here. (09:29) - Targeted 120,000 Membership Rewards points Business Platinum upgrade offers Read more about the 120K Membership Rewards points Business Platinum upgrade offers here. (13:36) - Venture X and Venture X Business Cards: Hertz President's Circle status NOT ending 12/31. Read more about the Venture X card here, and the Venture X Business Card here. (14:50) - What crazy thing did Nick and Greg do? (They missed the 70K Hawaiian card bonus change to 50K, hours before discussing it on the podcast.) (15:10) - Listen to our conversation about the Alaska / Hawaiian merger here. (17:21) - What crazy thing did Barclays do? (21:15) - Targeted IHG double elite night credits on up to 2 stays through 12/31/24 (Read more here.) (28:01) - Wells Fargo Rewards® points now transfer to Virgin (29:02) - Targeted Avianca LifeMiles sale - 200% bonus (through MONDAY 9/30) (Read more here.) (31:46) - AA Targeted promo to get Loyalty Points when spending AA miles (32:37) - Melio business bill payment service now has paid membership tiers Read more about Melio here. (35:28) - Pepper Rewards adds point history and pending point information Learn more about Pepper here. (39:23) - Spirit updates, including removing redemption fees and free wifi for Gold members (40:55) - ThankYou Rewards quick overview and basics Find out about unique rewards you can get with ThankYou points here. (46:23) - Welcome bonuses Learn more about the Strata Premier card here. Learn more about the Double Cash card here, and the Custom Cash card here. (50:54) - Earn through spend... (1:01:02) - Targeted Bonuses (1:02:44) - Retention Bonuses (1:07:19) - 2 person (or "2 player") strategy (1:10:10) - A reader won 50K American Airline miles from a work event and is considering accumulating more... Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

There are two issuers of American Airline's credit cards - Citi and Barclays. But recent reports suggest American Airlines may be considering an exclusive arrangement with Citi as their only credit card issuer. (00:10) - Citi is in talks with American Airlines to become the sole issuer of American Airlines credit cards. Read more about the Citi / American Airlines news here. And read the original source article here. (01:33) - Why might this be bad news? Read more about the best American Airlines credit card (the Silver card) here. (05:10) - Why might this be good news? (08:58) - What should we do now to get ready for a Citi-only American Airlines credit card world? Read more about the Aviator Red card here. (13:09) - Read about how to application rules for cards like this here. Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Leading Hotels of the World is a hotel loyalty program with loose affiliation to 400 luxury hotels around the world. You may recognize the name from Greg's recent post about the best points-bookable hotels in the world here. (00:07) - What is Leading Hotels of the World Read Greg's recent post about the best points-bookable hotels in the world here. (01:35) - Citi standard Transfer to Leading Hotels of the World (02:35) - Leading Hotels of the World Details (and "Leader's Club" points) (04:05) - Greg's experience sampling Leading Hotels of the World using Citi ThankYou Rewards Read about Greg's experience with Leading Hotels of the World here. (06:41) - Learn more about the Citi transfer bonus to Leading Hotels of the World here. (07:41) - Who do we think this Citi transfer bonus is (and isn't) for? Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Alaska has announced that their merger with Hawaiian Airlines is complete! So what are the details, and what does this mean for us? We'll discuss this in today's episode. (01:36) - What's with the stupid virus pop-up on our website? (03:40) - Greg's update on the Pacific Northwest Points Travel Festival and some of the folks he met (09:04) - Read about 10-year old Walker's first place win at the USA Mullet Championship here! (11:57) - Learn more about the next Points Travel Festival here. (12:50) - Big offers from Delta, Amex Marriot, IHG and more... Read more about the Delta card offers (up to 110K miles) here. Read more about the Amex Marriott Bonvoy Business Card offer here. Read more about the new IHG card offers here. Read more about the Ink Business Unlimited 90K offer here. (25:22) - Read "The Points Parade marches on thanks to a new round of targeted 250K offers" here. (30:00) - Read more about Amex Uber credits here. (31:39) - Read "Downgrade paths: How to keep your card but break up with your annual fee or find a better fit" here. (33:14) - Read more about buying groups here. (33:39) - Chase 50% transfer bonus to Marriott through 11/15. Learn more about this transfer bonus here. (37:15) - Rental car deals with Avis and National... (42:42) - Citi Transfer bonuses through Oct 19 Learn more about Citi's 25% transfer bonus to Avianca here. Learn more about Citi's 25% transfer bonus to Leading Hotels of the World here. (44:28) - Hilton adds over 100 additional SLH properties Read more about Hilton's 100 additional SLH properties here. (46:59) - In case you missed it, you can find our "Debate: 30% Amex to Hilton Transfer Bonus. Should we do it?" Coffee Break Ep26 here. (47:26) - Read more about the Alaska / Hawaaiin merger green light here. (47:54) - Quick facts (48:20) - Earn and redeem miles across both airlines (early 2025) (48:31) - Single loyalty program coming (Details mid 2025) (49:09) - Huaka'i by Hawaiian (for Hawaii residents) (50:16) - Seamless miles transfer (52:14) - We still have questions! (57:39) - Listen to Podcast episode 269 about the Alaska / Hawaiian merger here. (1:01:39) - What are the short term opportunities to consider? (1:03:27) - Combine Alaska miles into one account for free! (1:06:10) - Apply now for Hawaiian Airlines cards before its too late...orr wait for better last-gasp offers? Learn more about the Hawaiian Airlines personal card here, and the Hawaiian Airlines business card here. (1:25:43) - A reader used their Amex Platinum to pay for the tax on an award ticket, then got a charge for trip delay. Doesn't this card already have travel delay covered, though? Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

Learn about what makes the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card a popular business card, and learn how to apply. (00:10) - Learn more about the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card here. (00:24) - Quick facts about the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card (00:43) - Chase Ink Business Unlimited earning rate: 1.5X on all purchases (01:17) - Sometimes you can earn more on specific categories: Currently you can earn 5X on Lyft through March 2025 for example (01:38) - Who can sign up for a business card like this? Learn about how to apply for Chase Ink Business cards here. (02:40) - The Chase Ink Business card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (03:15) - This card has slightly more lenient rules than other Chase cards Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

There's a 30% transfer bonus through September 30th from American Express to Hilton. This means during the transfer bonus, 1,000 points would. become 2,600 Hilton points. Is this a good transfer bonus? Greg and Nick debate that point in today's Coffee Break. (00:26) - Quick facts about the transfer bonus... (01:28) - Past bonuses (02:10) - Nick says "No" to the 30% Hilton bonus (07:55) - Greg says "Yes" to the 30% Hilton transfer bonus (12:23) - But what about the "joy of free"? Read our post about "the joy or myth of free travel" here. (14:24) - Conclusion Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Now that you've amassed a huge stash of Ultimate Rewards points after listening to Episode 271, how what? Today, we talk about the top 10 best (and bottom 5 worst) uses of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. 00:00 Intro 01:10 Announcements 01:12 New "How to" series on Youtube 02:54 Using buying groups to increase spend 04:10 Giant Mailbag: Online grocery is more broadly useful than you think 07:43 Card News 07:45 Increased offers on the Wyndham cards https://frequentmiler.com/increased-welcome-offers-on-all-3-wyndham-credit-cards-earn-up-to-80k-bonus-points/ https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-get-free-cruises-by-gaming-casino-status-matches/ 11:39 What crazy thing.....did Wyndham Rewards do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/apparently-wyndham-credit-card-points-never-expire-positive-change/ 17:00 Mattress Running the Numbers: Aeroplan to Marriott to MGM 23:41 Award Talk 23:47 United vs Aeroplan https://frequentmiler.com/united-vs-air-canada-which-is-the-better-chase-transfer-partner/ 29:59 Discount partner awards for United Premier status https://frequentmiler.com/united-giving-award-flight-discounts-to-premier-members-cardholders-even-on-partners/ 33:12 Which award search tool is best? https://frequentmiler.com/united-vs-air-canada-which-is-the-better-chase-transfer-partner/ 37:50 Graduate Hotels via Hilton Honors (earn & redeem is now live) 38:47 Main Event: Top 10 best and 5 worst uses of your Chase points 39:21 #10: Booking travel through the Chase Travel portal with the Sapphire Reserve at a value of 1.5c per points 40:40 #9: 70% transfer bonus to Marriott 42:07 #8 Transfer to Emirates and book first class from New York JFK to Milan or Newark EWR to Athens for 102,000 points + ~$130 https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-find-and-book-emirates-first-class-awards/ 44:41 #7 Transfer to United for positioning flights 48:10 #6: Transfer to British Airways Avios to fly Qatar Qsuites to Doha for 70K https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-find-qatar-q-suites-award-space/ 49:58 #5: Transfer to Iberia Avios to book business class from the east coast to Europe from 34K Avios one-way https://frequentmiler.com/best-uses-of-avios-british-airways-iberia-qatar-aer-lingus-finnair/ 53:33 #4: Transfer to Hyatt to book a suite https://frequentmiler.com/how-best-to-book-hyatt-luxury-suites/ 56:10 #3: Transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan and book a multi-partner award with a stopover for just 5,000 additional miles https://frequentmiler.com/nicks-6-country-5-airline-award-ticket/ 01:00:36 #2 Transfer to Flying Blue to book Air France or KLM Business Class for only 50K one way https://frequentmiler.com/air-france-klm-flying-blue-lowers-business-class-award-cost-from-the-us/ 01:05:33 #1 : Transfer to Hyatt to book hotels for great value 01:12:18 In-between: Cash out for $0.01 per point 01:14:18 The worst of the worst uses of Chase points 01:14:23 #5 Transferring to any program to book a low-value award 01:16:23 #4 Buying gift cards with your points 01:17:16 #3 Transfer to Marriott without a transfer bonus 01:18:45 #2 Using your points to shop at sites like Amazon 01:20:54: #1 Transfer points to IHG One Rewards 01:23:59 Question of the Week: How do you protect your miles and points? Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

This time Tim was on vacation, but the rest of the Frequent Miler crew got together on YouTube for another Ask Us Anything, Live. (On the first Wednesday of every month, we host a live YouTube to answer your points and miles questions in real time!) (00:30) - How did TeamLabs "Borderless" compare with "Planets"? Read more about our TeamLabs experience here. (04:57) - ​​What are your thoughts on new U.S. bank smartly credit card? (07:08) - Hi team! If I downgrade my Ritz card to get the Amex Brilliant sign up bonus, then upgrade again to the Ritz card, will that affect my Ritz 85k certificate? Anything to be careful of so I don’t lose the 85k Ritz certificate? (08:56) - ​​What is one place (non-US) destination that has a bad reputation for tourists and doesn't deserve it or alternatively is very overrated? (16:45) - Hi Greg, I was 0 for 3 on my CC applications for Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Personal, Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Biz, and Bank of America Sonesta. Did you have better luck with your CC applications? (18:16) - ​​Any suggestions on how to improve odds on getting targeted for useful Amex? offers? (20:28) - I want to stay at Hilton Tokyo Bay for Fam of 5 - Disneyland and Disney Sea…. what card should I get first? Are there specific rules to follow like Marriott? (26:04) - ​​I have big spend coming up, capacity for ~20k in spend, but I can’t get business cards. Any recommendations on sign up bonuses/big spend bonuses? Read more about who can apply for business cards here. (27:57) - Have you ever had issues with gift card fraud? How would you deal with it? (31:13) - What parts of Japan besides Kyoto and Tokyo do you enjoy (33:07) - How much of a transfer bonus from Amex to Hilton would you find to be on the same level as the normal 1:1 transfer from Chase to Hyatt? (34:38) - I have United Silver, is booking basic economy on United and/or Star Alliance partners still going to give me the free checkin luggage? (35:34) -What’s the best bet for a new card or downgrade to keep Amex points when cancelling a Gold? My husband has a Business Platinum and it's too hard to get all the benefits/offsets for a second one. (39:16) - ​​What is the best use of Avios after all the short-haul devaluations? (40:16) - ​​What is your favorite hotel ecosystem for long term commitment? (42:42) - Nick, I got the surpass on July 31 and close to meeting spend. want to work towards the 15k spend for 2nd free night certificate but need to pause since I got approved US Bank Altitude Reserve. Will spend in 2025 before anniversary count? (44:13) - ​​What's your best guess on how long the JetBlue status match offer will be active? I have JetBlue cash flights booked in October (domestic) and December (Mint to London). Trying to time it right. (45:24) - ​​Can’t book JetBlue economy via Qatar? I tried using the article for finding mint via Qatar using ITAmatrix. I used “P” fare class for economy Got the calendar, but Qatar website doesn’t show the flights. (47:44) - what's the best award booking using Lufthansa miles without the exuberant taxes and best way to find availability? (49:43) - ​​Planning trip to Ghana or Kenya next June. Would like to use Flying Blue and Qatar to stop in Ams and Doh. Is it worth it to transfer points now hoping award prices come down closer to the trip? (51:17) - Why don't you guys have a (paid) service for your subscribers to help make award bookings? I've been following for almost a couple of years. I know you teach us to do it on our own, but... (54:36) - NICK and Greg shared an amazing video about finding award availability on Jetblue and booking via Avios. I believe They used Matrix.Ita. Is there a way to find united availability using same process Watch the JetBlue Mint via Qatar how to video here. (56:25) - ​​Should I go for the Hilton Surpass now for the 150k sign up bonus that I can find via incognito browser or wait for a better offer? Subscribe and Follow Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

It seems like we report a new loyalty program devaluation each week. Awards cost more, fees go up, etc.. But the U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wants that to stop, sending letters to America's 4 largest airlines demanding information about loyalty program devaluations. In this Coffee Break episode, we'll discuss what this might all mean! (00:26) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wants that to stop. Read more about this airline rewards probe here. (01:11) - Let's hear the press release... (03:15) - AA, Delta, Southwest, and United were ordered to submit information by Dec 4. Here are the categories of information requested... (09:17) - Details indicate a fairly deep understanding of loyalty program issues. (10:28) - What good might come out of this? (14:08) - What bad might come of this? (17:13) - Will anything happen at all? Visit frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

We love Chase Ultimate Rewards primarily because of the ability to transfer to partners (and we specifically love the ability to transfer to Hyatt.) Chase Ultimate Rewards is actually one of the best ways to get Hyatt points, in fact. We'll talk more about amassing Chase Ultimate Rewards (and why you would want to) in this episode of Frequent Miler on the Air. (01:18) - A reader experiences an issue with a price on his Etihad award that was not as advertised... (08:43) - Read more about the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card here. (10:21) - Read more about the U.S. Bank Smartly credit card here. (19:47) - Read our Guide to Credit Card Application Rules by Bank here. (21:29) - Double Elite Night Credit on Marriott Homes & Villas (Targeted, Book by 9/20, stay by 12/31) Read more about the double elite night credit here. (32:34) - 30% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors (thru 9/30) (33:24) - Reminder: 30% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards to Avios (thru 9/30) (33:40) - 20% transfer bonus from Capital One to Air France / KLM Flying Blue (thru 9/29) (35:20) - Preferred Hotels now up to 118,000 Choice points (not long ago 55K max!). Read more about great value preferred hotels, bookable with Choice points here. (40:03) - We all know that Chase Ultimate Rewards points are super valuable... Learn more about Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots here. (41:55) - How to get the Chase Ultimate Rewards points... (42:04) - Chase Ultimate Rewards welcome bonuses Read more about Chase's best credit card sign up offers here. (42:22) - What are the rules for applying for Chase cards? (What is the 5/24 24 month, 48 month, etc): See our Complete Guide to Credit Card Application Rules by Bank here. (42:59) - There are lots of Chase cards available... Again, you can learn more about Chase cards here. (45:29) - Which Ink Business card is not like the others (and will not earn you points that can be transferred to partners)... (48:59) - Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards via referral bonuses (51:06) - 2 Player Mode for Chase Ultimate Rewards (54:28) - What can you earn as you spend on Chase cards? Learn more about spending options here and here. (1:05:12) - Chase's shopping portal (and other miscellaneous ways to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points) (1:07:12) - When does it make sense to credit paid flights to a different airline's frequent flyer account (within the partner airline)? (1:10:23) - Learn more about our 40K to Far Away challenge here. (1:11:59) - Learn more about wheretocredit.com here Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

You can read more about the World of Hyatt Business card here or listen to this episode of Card Talk to hear a quick but useful summary on the World of Hyatt Business card. (00:15) - World of Hyatt Business Card Earning rate and card fee (00:56) - World of Hyatt Business Card Perks (02:03) - What does the "elite qualifying night credit" perk mean? (02:36) - Hyatt Leverage membership (05:01) - Do we like this card and who is this card good for? (10:15) - Find podcast Ep270 "Hyatt Elite Milestone spending vs Mattress running" here. Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

JetBlue is out with an opportunity to earn status for 3 months by matching from Delta, United, American Airlines, or Alaska elite status. Don't worry if you don't have status in any of those yet - in this episode we'll also talk about how to get some of these statuses quickly and easily to do this match.   (00:00) - Read more about JetBlue's status match here. (01:23) - Match to Mosaic 1 or 2 for 3 months. What is Mosaic 1 or 2? (03:57) - Details about the challenge (04:23) - "Tiles" may be earned for this promotion in only three ways... (09:10) - What if you don't have one of these statuses yet? (10:28) - How to get status quickly with Delta (2024) (11:30) - How to get status quickly with American Airlines (12:18) - How to get status quickly with Alaska (2024) (13:09) - Listen to podcast episode 225 "Delta's big flip-flop" here. (13:20) - Listen to podcast episode 242 "Which Delta card is best?" here. (14:42) - A somewhat risky idea for possibly getting almost two years status Visit frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

CORRECTION NOTE:  We've got a correction to add to this episode! In this episode Greg says with the Hyatt Business card you can get back $100 per year on spend at Hyatt hotels: $50 in first 6 monhts and $50 in second 6 months, but we need to correct that! In truth, you can get up to $100 back per membership year, $50 at a time, but you don't have to wait 6 months: you could make two payments in rapid succession to get the full $100. Thanks for your patience with this correction! Hyatt's elite program can be really valuable - for instance when you reach certain milestones you can get valuable perks, and there's multiple ways of reaching those milestones. In this episode, Greg and Nick debate the best way of getting there.   (01:21) - Multiple readers (coincidentally named both forms of "John") chime in with feedback from recent podcast episodes... (01:42) - Find podcast Ep269 Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines Wedding Planning here. (04:21) - Find podcast Ep262 How to get great value from you Platinum card here. (07:34) - Nick experiences a crazy Hilton resort fee for using the pool (11:42) - Bilt's September 1 Rent Day promo. Should Greg transfer his points? Read more about Bilt Rent Day promos here. (20:58) - Bilt adds Walgreens FSA & point earning Read more about Bilt rewards adding points-earning at Walgreens here. (28:34) - Delta (probably gone) : US to Taipei on Delta One from 98,000 SkyMiles (83,300 for Delta cardholders) Read more about finding this US to Taipei deal here. (33:26) - Find our World of Hyatt Complete Guide here (35:10) - Read Greg's post "Hyatt milestone spending -- what's my X?" here. (36:59) - Read Nick's "Hyatt Milestone chasing: should we all mattress run to Globalist status?" here. (39:49) - Hyatt Milestone Details: Earn valuable benefits after every 10 qualifying nights starting at 20 nights (but real value starts at 30)... (47:20) - First let's talk about mattress running... (52:54) - Credit card spend options... (52:56) - Learn more about the World of Hyatt card here. (53:43) - Learn more about the World of Hyatt Business card here. (56:26) - Which is better - mattress running or credit card spend? (1:07:33) - A reader just discovered you can redeem Cathay Pacific miles for hotels and wonders if we've heard of anyone doing this? Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are a valuable transferable points currency, and the Chase Ink Business Preferred card is a great card for earning this valuable currency. In this episode, we discuss what makes this a great card, and if it's a good card to keep year after year. (00:30) - Learn more about the Chase Ink Business Preferred card here. (00:34) - The Chase Ink Business Preferred card earns Ultimate Rewards points (00:48) - Usually has great welcome bonus (01:30) - Earning rate: 3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year) (02:44) - Other noteworthy perks of the Chase Ink Business Preferred card (04:34)- What are the approval rules for this card? (For example, what is the 5/24 rule and how does it apply here?) (07:19) - Is this a keeper card?  

We know occasionally you may have to actually pay for a hotel night (instead of using your points and free night certificates.) In this episode we'll dissect how to even go about deciphering how rewarding your paid stays are. (01:28) - How do we go about even calculating which hotel program is most rewarding on paid stays? Read more about which hotel loyalty programs are most valuable here. (03:17) - There are a few things our analysis did not consider... (03:59) - Which programs are most rewarding when you're not using a hotel credit card and don't have elite status? (06:11) - If you have top tier status, (but not necessarily a hotel credit card), which hotel program rewards you most for your paid stays? Learn more about the Sonesta program here. (08:56) - If you have both hotel status and the hotel branded credit card, which program is most rewarding for your paid stays. (09:49) Learn more about the Wyndham Business Earner card here, and the Wyndham Earner Plus card here. (10:51) - Lear more about the World of Hyatt card here. (10:55) - Learn more about the Hilton Aspire card here. (10:58) - Learn more about the IHG Premier card here, and the IHG Premier Business card here. (11:54) - Learn more about the Bonvoy Brilliant card here. (12:09) - Learn more about the  Hilton Surpass card here, and the Hilton Business card here. (13:22) - Consider elite programs and promotions Visit frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Late 2023, Alaska Airlines announced that it planned to acquire Hawaiian Airlines and just last week, the DOJ allowed the merger to move ahead. Today, we'll talk about how to prepare for this "wedding" between programs. (01:12) - The value of my Life miles just disappeared into Finn Air Listen to Ask Us Anything Ep69 here. Listen to Frequent Miler on the Air Ep268 "Best Uses for Virgin Points" here. (02:25) - Dell no longer selling many 3rd party items (headphones, etc) (03:59) - Amex Business Platinum card credits for Dell, Adobe, and Indeed are ending 12/31/24 Read more about the Amex Business Platinum card here. (06:48) - Which hotel award search tool is best? Read Greg's post about which hotel award search tool is best here. (10:17) - Radisson Rewards instant status (Read more about Radisson Rewards instant status here) (11:50) - Marriott just sent Greg a $50 promo gift card for continued loyalty Main Event: Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines Wedding Planning (13:24) - Late 2023, Alaska Airlines announced that it planned to acquire Hawaiian Airlines... (15:44) - Backing up... Let's talk about the pre-merger situation with both airlines... (16:29) - Alaska Airlines recently joined oneworld alliance, recently overhauled award charts, and pledged to offer mixed partner awards by late 2024 (17:50) - What we like about Alaska Airlines... (21:29) - Alaska miles are hard to get in huge quantities... (23:12) - Alaska credit cards... Learn more about the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card here. Learn more about the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card here. (24:41) - Currently, very few great uses for Hawaiian Airlines miles (25:21) - Hawaiian Airlines has wide body jets with lie-flat business class seats, and international destinations: South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Cook Islands (26:31) - Getting Hawaiian Airline miles... Learn more about the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard by Barclays here. Learn more about the Hawaiian Airlines Business card here. (29:07) - What we know about the merger so far... (30:30) - What we don't know yet... (36:21) - Amex Membership Rewards 20% transfer bonus to Hawaiian through 8/31/24 (46:34) - One reader booked a one way partner flight through Flying Blue, then it was revoked at the Copa counter without notice or explanation. Is this common and what should you do in this kind if situation? Subscribe and Follow Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

The Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard is a new card that's coming out soon to replace the old Bank of America Virgin Atlantic Flying Club credit card. In this episode, we'll discuss more about this upcoming credit card. (00:10) - The Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard replaces the old Virgin Atlantic Flying Club credit card Learn more about the Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard here. (02:10) - Earning rate: 3X Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Hotels and Virgin Voyages ✦ 2X dining, at grocery stores, on select streaming services and for EV charging ✦ 1X everywhere else (03:03) - Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard Perks (05:46) - Is this card worth it? Visit frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads